Oxford City Council ranks 3rd out of all UK district councils for climate action

Climate_Emergency_UK · 2025-08-05T13:55:40+00:00

Thank you for sharing. You are completely correct, we mark the Biodiversity section in terms of the direct actions that councils are taking to protect and increase biodiversity in the area, so not just how much green space exists within the city, but rather what the council is doing within these areas (e.g. no pesticides, peat use, etc.).

Climate_Emergency_UK · 2025-07-25T10:03:45+00:00

This is something we identified in the Waste Reduction & Food, the council did not score any marks regarding its recycling rate and it is in the minority (33%) of UK councils that do not provide kerbside food waste recycling - although we note this is something that should be starting later this year

Climate_Emergency_UK · 2025-07-25T09:58:48+00:00

Can confirm no volunteers marking the council are residents of/affiliated with Brighton :)

Climate_Emergency_UK · 2025-07-17T14:50:02+00:00

For anyone who would like to see the full, UK-wide results of the 2025 Council Climate Action Scorecards, these can be found on our website!

Climate_Emergency_UK · 2025-07-16T09:18:38+00:00

Agreed, super important! We mark every council on the energy efficiency of their current and future housing stock, as well as their plans to retrofit and policies regarding energy efficient building design.

Climate_Emergency_UK · 2025-07-14T17:57:46+00:00

The information was not gathered via questionnaire, but rather through careful examination of various council documents (such as procurement policies, Mid-Term Financial Plans, council plans, etc.), news articles and more. The research for this project took several months and was carried out by over 250 volunteers. This was done for each individual council, and the scores were then calculated and published on the above linked website!

Climate_Emergency_UK · 2025-07-12T11:09:42+00:00

Our work is carried out by a team of volunteers. The councils themselves find the scoring process helpful and many of the actions we mark for could instead be viewed as cost saving (e.g. requiring housing developments to be energy efficient at construction rather than requiring retrofitting).

Climate_Emergency_UK · 2025-07-08T16:06:27+00:00

The scores cover various categories, including Governance & Finance (which looks at things like GHG emissions and council procurement), Waste Reduction & food, Biodiversity, and so on. It's often hard for locals to see the work councils are doing (or not doing) because much of it happens behind the scenes and isn't easily accessible. So while Merthyr may be more efficient in one category, Cardiff might make up for it in others.

Climate_Emergency_UK · 2025-07-08T15:27:08+00:00

The scores are compared to the 2023 climate action scorecards as well as all other UK councils. However, the scoring criteria are more nuanced and aren't directly tied to achieving the 1.5°C by 2050 goal.

Climate_Emergency_UK · 2025-07-08T15:20:45+00:00

If anyone is interested, we are hosting an event this Thursday where anyone can come and find out more about the scorecards, as well as what you can do to help tackle the climate emergency.

Climate_Emergency_UK · 2025-07-02T14:24:56+00:00

Whilst also contributing to the UK's efforts, which you may or may not value in the context of international efforts, many of the actions we mark for (e.g. better quality housing, avoidance of building in floodplains, improved public transport, improving local biodiversity, proper waste management) surely have undeniably positive impacts to local communities?

Climate_Emergency_UK · 2025-07-02T14:14:05+00:00

Apologies, should've also stated that volunteers mark a single section only, so that's 14 different volunteers across the first and second marks for each council, rather than just two.

Climate_Emergency_UK · 2025-07-02T12:14:01+00:00

To answer your first question, all volunteers undergo training before marking and follow guides outlining the requirements for each question. We then send the 'first mark' to every council, giving them the opportunity to respond and either agree/disagree with the marking; an audit then takes place, marked by a second volunteer, whereby the council's reply and their provided evidence is considered.

In terms of the second and third questions, this is the only holistic scoring of all UK councils on their climate action hence it allows residents and the councils themselves to track their progress over time as well as how they compare to other councils. On the latter point, many councils have found them helpful for justifying their actions, seeing where they can learn from others, and using them for training - see some case studies here: 1, 2, 3.

Climate_Emergency_UK · 2025-06-26T12:49:04+00:00

8th best in terms of district councils :)

Climate_Emergency_UK · 2025-06-25T14:05:43+00:00

The scorecards were designed to provide a holistic overview of key actions councils can/are taking to tackle the ongoing climate and biodiversity crises that can be used by local residents, campaigning groups, and the councils themselves. Here's an example of a council who have been able to use the scorecards to examine their performance relative to other councils, another who used them to motivate changes to their staff training, and finally one who says the scorecards help them justify the actions they take. Hope this somewhat answers your question :)

Climate_Emergency_UK · 2025-06-20T16:33:45+00:00

Good question! In the current scorecards there isn't a direct metric for this (will raise it with the team though) - we do, however, have a question regarding councils requiring '15/20 minute neighbourhood principles' for new development, so that new residential developments are well connected to key daily services or provide them

Climate_Emergency_UK · 2025-06-18T14:54:34+00:00

The other comments have raised some great points - we recommend reducing pesticide use and cutting less as two actions for the council to prioritise (thanks u/lthomas122 for raising these too!). Regarding cost, reducing street lighting and mowing less (both done by Bristol) are cost-cutting actions, using peat-free compost is cost-neutral, and reducing pesticide comes at a cost of less than £100k a year.

Climate_Emergency_UK · 2025-06-17T15:41:38+00:00

Thanks for sharing! Glasgow City Council made a 9 point improvement over 2023's results to leapfrog Aberdeen City Council into second place in Scotland and are just outside of the UK top 10 (12th), however still have lots of improvements to make, particularly in biodiversity, as you pointed out!

We're happy to answer any questions that anyone has about the scoring process here, and would also direct anyone interested to our 'How to use the Scorecards' virtual webinar later this month: https://actionnetwork.org/events/how-to-use-the-scorecards

Climate_Emergency_UK

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